Statistics On The Most Common Personal Injury Causes Reveal A Clear Outlier

Finding the causes of personal injuries is challenging, as it relies on data from the Department of Justice that looks at the various court cases of this type. This is how you separate information on general injuries and those that come under the “personal injury” category, which relates to injuries that were caused to a person through someone else’s negligence. In that regard, the most recent data surrounding personal injuries has revealed something quite shocking: over half of all claims fall under the same category. 

52% of personal injuries stemmed from motor vehicle accidents

It is believed that there are around 5.5 million car accidents every year, and 3 million of them cause injuries. This is significantly more than any other personal injury cause, and it makes reasonable sense when you consider that millions of people will be on the roads every single day. Moreover, motor vehicle accidents usually involve one or more vehicles moving at speed, carrying a lot of weight and velocity. The force of even small impacts can be enough for someone to sustain a serious injury. 

You can expect this statistic to go up and down depending on where you are in the country. Some states have meaner and more aggressive drivers than others, which results in more auto accidents per year and more personal injury claims. This also means that, in some places, motor vehicle accidents may not be the number one cause of personal injuries – but it certainly is on a national scale, and we’d bet that it’s also likely the number one cause worldwide. 

Workplace injuries prove hard to quantify

One of the more interesting points from this data is that workplace injuries seem to be difficult to quantify. As noted by Fittipaldi Injury Lawyers, accidents at work appear to be some of the most common forms of personal injuries out there – especially on construction sites. However, when looking at real personal injury claims, there’s often confusion surrounding how to quantify these types of injuries. 

For instance, if a truck driver gets injured at work, does that go into the motor vehicle accidents category or the workplace injury category? It may depend on what caused the accident, but the same is true for a lot of other workplace injuries. Some are noted down as premise liability claims, others are categorised as slip & fall injuries, and this makes it hard to get a true statistic on how many people are injured at work. 

Most lawyers would realistically place this as the second most common reason for personal injury claims, though the data doesn’t necessarily back that up right now. Another reason behind this could be that employees who do get injured at work are more likely to make workers’ compensation claims than to seek legal guidance, which could warp the statistics somewhat. 

Medical malpractice remains a leading cause of personal injury claims

Unsurprisingly, medical malpractice claims account for a large chunk of personal injuries. The latest report suggests that 15% of claims were in relation to medical malpractice, and this covers everything from misdiagnosing patients to making surgical errors. 

It is, unfortunately for everyone involved, far too easy for something to go wrong in a medical setting. Most medical professionals are warned when they train that they will receive a lawsuit at some point in their careers. It comes with the territory, and patients have a lot of legal ground to stand upon in these situations. The nature of medical work means things are often fast-paced and decisions must be made quickly to ensure that patients get treatment as soon as possible – while also allowing doctors and nurses to see as many patients as they can. 

There will inevitably be cases when someone makes the wrong decision or there’s a mistake somewhere along the line of treatment. Patients – or the families of deceased patients – are well within their rights to file claims in these instances. A fascinating point about medical malpractice is that more and more patients are winning these types of cases. Previously, physicians had a high success rate, but reports show that more and more medical malpractice verdicts are being won by patients, and the number of $10 million-plus payouts is higher than ever before. 

Product liability covers a modest percentage of cases

Product liability claims have trended downward in recent times, with experts pointing to the changes in consumerism as the leading factor behind this. Consumers are now more likely to buy digital goods or spend less money on a lot of products that used to be commonplace in homes. For instance, many product liability claims in the past centred around children’s toys – but there’s a general decline in the number of children’s toys being purchased. 

Thanks to the online world and the presence of reviews and product demonstration videos, consumers also tend to spend more time researching products before buying them. As a result, it is harder to actually encounter a dodgy product, and that’s why only 5% of personal injury claims involve product liability. 

That being said, the interesting caveat here is that product liability claims payouts have increased. So, while fewer people are being injured by dodgy products, those who are end up securing very large payouts. It is also believed that the vast majority of product liability cases are resolved before they go to trial. 

The total number of personal injury cases is declining

Of all the information out there, the most shocking is that the total number of personal injury cases is on the decline. The Association of Consumer Support Organisations shows that claims hit a record low this year, but there is a clear reason for this. When looking at the data, you see that this is largely down to a massive reduction in motor vehicle accidents. This further backs up the evidence that this is the number one cause of personal injury claims; when motor vehicle accidents drop, so does the overall number of personal injuries. 

Overall, the statistics reveal that motor accidents are clearly the biggest reason behind personal injury claims, and it’s not even close. While reports on workplace accidents are often hard to quantify, it’s believed they are in second place, followed by medical practice and product liability.